How We Live
by Sartha Anne Rose
Summary: Ten years after the end of the Eve Wars, the Earth and Colonies have settled into an era free of conflict. Heero Yuy and Relena Darlian are no different, one happily married and politically active while the other continues to keep the peace from the shadows. However, there is a truth both know and forever refuse to acknowledge, even as it presses in on the lives they live. 1xR
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own GW or it's characters.

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How We Live

It was raining when he stepped off the shuttle onto the tarmac. The weather report he read on the way down into the stratosphere said it had been this way for a week now, with no end in sight. Earth's weather had been in turmoil in the past few years—a fact that scientists were blaming on all the debris and military-grade weaponry that had burned through the atmosphere in the time since the beginning of the mobile suit wars. Adding to the problems involved with the atmosphere was the hole that had been blasted through the middle of the planet itself, leading to a slow disruption of Earth's gravitational poles and the movement and temperature of the oceans, and a gradual disintegration and desiccation of the remaining landmasses, amongst much else. The changes, though subtle, were significant when compared to the long history of the planet. In short, the Earth was irreparably changed since mankind's final vicious war with itself had ended ten years prior.

Present day, the terraformation of Mars became an increasingly pressing topic of debate amongst both the Earth and Colonies. Privately, Heero Yuy knew that it was the only solution to maintain a terrestrial home planet for humans to return to; in time, Earth would become uninhabitable due to the wounds inflicted upon it in that most final of battles.

He did not bother with an umbrella as he left the shuttle behind, slinging his luggage over one shoulder as he made his way across the landing field to the spaceport and out into the city that acted as the center of the ESUN. It was easy to lose himself in the crowd, falling back on old instincts that told him to blend in with the populace and avoid any potential spies who might try to follow him. Realistically he knew that such people would be anything but interested in him these days – of those who might discover him to be a Gundam pilot, few had any regard in seeking him out, and fewer who would look at him as a source of relevant information. Gundam pilots were obsolete in this new world – a remnant of the past. It was assumed that most of the pilots lived – who could think otherwise after the Mariemeia Incident? – But they had faded into history as a memory to be acknowledged and then discarded. What purpose could they serve in this new era without mobile suits?

Still, old habits died hard.

The apartment he kept was listed under a false alias, kept for the purpose of his periodic visits down to Earth so that he could maintain an active cover without an uncomfortable amount of questions. His landlady believed he was a technical liaison that traveled between Earth and the Colonies, thus explaining his vast absences and allowing him to pay rent from remote accounts without questioning where the money originated. The apartment was located within short walking distance of the spaceport and only a block from the ESUN Central Block and Preventer Headquarters. Under the same alias, he maintained a private shuttle that allowed him to travel freely between the planet and space; Never mind that the shuttle was one he had personally rebuilt from the ground up using old military planes and mobile suit parts from Duo's salvage yard.

He walked casually down the street, wrapped in the midst of bodies that trickled toward the city center. In the distance he could see the buildings part to reveal the main plaza with its large monitor running through the day's most pressing news. Even from afar he could make out the images of Mars surrounded by several resource satellites and mechanic shuttles, followed by a panel of news anchors obviously arguing the work that was currently underway on the red planet. Too far to hear the audio, he read their lips instead.

…"a feat that has never been attempted before. How do we know this terraforming project will even succeed? Isn't this just one more politician's attempt at reelection?"

"I think we can all agree, Janet, that despite what happens on Mars in the coming future, the last thing Foreign Minister Relena Darlian is focused on is her need for votes in the next election. I do, however, agree that it's hard to know whether this undertaking will actually produce any results." Two of the anchors, a red-haired woman with a severe face and small eyes and an obese man with thinning hair and a red face, conversed on the screen. At the man's words, the woman sneered.

"I'll admit that the Foreign Minister has been an advocate of terraforming since the end of the Eve Wars, Don, but do you really believe she has no other investment in this project than a sense of duty to the people of Earth? Reports of the planet's decline didn't emerge until almost five years after the end of the war, but she's been pushing this agenda almost since her election as Vice Foreign Minister ten years ago! Not to call anyone naïve, but I have to say there's more going on behind the scenes here."

Don was shaking his head and smiling in a way that was more a bearing of teeth as Janet spoke, the other anchors looking distinctly uncomfortable. "Janet, I have to say…" Heero let the words travel to the back of his mind as the program flashed a recent picture of the Foreign Minister. Relena gazed out commandingly from behind a podium, blonde hair pulled up away from her face in a neat bun, her cream business suit pristine against the backdrop of the ESUN council chamber. In the background a man stood behind and slightly to the left of her, sandy hair cut short and combed back amidst vivid green eyes. Relena's left hand, curled around the side of the podium in the photo, wore two elaborate diamond rings.

She looked worn. Despite confident eyes and a passionate bearing, Heero could see the weariness in her face concealed behind a political mask that was flawless to any but those who knew Relena best. Her grip on the podium was just this side of white-knuckled, shoulders tense. The bun was a choice made for necessity, not grooming; she had pulled her hair back that way to appear professional when moments before it had most likely been unbound. Cerulean eyes were subtly sunken. The debates were taking their toll on her. The man behind her in the photo looked equally stressed, bright green eyes strained at the corners despite the encouraging smile on a well-formed mouth.

"…discuss this again next time, Janet. For now, we'll have to wait to see what the Minister reports on the terraformation project at her public address next week. I'd like to thank you all for sharing your views on the show tonight. Good night, ladies and gentleman. This is Don…"

Heero paused in the midst of the plaza to watch the remainder of the show as the anchor signed off for the night. By now the rain was falling faster and his clothes were soaked through. His apartment was north and just around the corner, but he continued east instead. By the time it began to downpour, he was pushing through the doors leading into the ESUN Towers.

The Towers stood at the center of an entire city block occupied solely by the ESUN and its related offices, the tallest structure in the city itself. The lower floors were occupied by the offices of councilors and various representatives from around the Earth Sphere, and provided conference rooms, meeting halls, auditoriums, and multipurpose rooms to conduct business between both Earth and space. The upper floors housed the leading officials such as the President and his staff, along with the Ministers and Colony leaders who came to do business with the Earth for extended periods and Preventer officials who worked to protect all parties. The Towers were a hub of activity and a symbol of cooperation between humans of both land and space.

Walking through the entrance, Heero nodded to the security guards standing just inside the main doors and bypassed the metal detectors wordlessly, the uniformed officers sparing him less than a glance. The hour was already late, meaning that most of the daily occupants of the building had already left for the night. He passed through the near-empty grand foyer and was beyond the main desk before a gape-mouthed guard who had watched the entire journey hurried forward to intercept him at the elevators.

"Sir, excuse me but I'll need to see some ID before I can let you go any further." He was younger, not that much older than when Heero had fought in the war, but he made a formidable sight reaching head and shoulders above the former pilot. Broad, open features, well-muscled but lean, with shrewd eyes that were neither accusatory nor judgmental. Relaxed stance. Confident, but with a polite demeanor. Inwardly, Heero approved.

Out of the corner of his eye, Heero could see that the guard at the reception desk had noticed the interception and was starting to approach to intervene. Subtly, so the younger man could not see, he waved the second man away and reached for the ID attached to his luggage, offering it to the boy all while sizing him up. To his credit, the guard took a long moment to study the card, eyes widening subtly, before handing it back to Heero and nodding. "My apologies, Agent Yuy, I didn't realize who you were. It's my first week."

"Name?" he asked as he returned his ID to his luggage.

"Leose, Sir. Kole Leose." Steady, unintimidated, appropriately subordinate.

"Hn. Don't apologize for doing your job. You are here to protect the leaders of the Earth Sphere and the Colonies; it is your duty to screen the people who walk in this building. And don't tell anyone how long you've been doing that job unless it is pertinent information asked of you by a superior – it makes your appear incompetent, when you are not." He waited for Leose to absorb the words before offering another word and continuing on to the elevators. As the doors pinged open, he could hear the officer at the desk speaking to Kole.

"I think that might be the closest thing to a compliment I've ever heard out of that man's mouth. Congratulations, kid!"

"…He's a Preventer?"

"Yup. Scares the shit out of ya, doesn't he?"

The doors slid shut and the elevator ascended, taking Heero with it.

It had been nearly six months since his last excursion to Earth. Une had been shuttling him between the Colonies for most of that time, trailing after whispers of unrest and maintaining order where others were unable to enact it. Most of his work was done from the shadows: a mechanical error that lead to an unfortunate discovery by the authorities; the carefully placed rumor to discredit all influence an activist held; the fatal malfunctioning of a war machine. Much of his work dealt with knowledge, and required patience and time. Over the past ten years he had willingly become the eyes and ears that bled information into the Preventer intelligence, and on occasion the stealth and muscle to cripple its enemies. Nevertheless, his hands remained unstained since the vow he had made a decade earlier in a wrecked bunker while pointing a gun at a child.

He still remembered the feel of arms catching him as he fell.

He emerged on one of the top floors and turned down a hallway that was almost completely made of glass windows. The windows opened up to several large offices, some with blinds drawn and most with their lights extinguished. At the end of the hall the far office took up what must have been an entire side of the building, most of it closed off from view by one of the few solid walls on the floor – an area that concealed what Heero knew to be a personal conference room for large meetings. The other half contained comfortable furniture arranged into a sitting area and a large desk with more comfortable chairs, filing cabinets, bookshelves, and another door that led into a bathroom. Behind the desk sat a familiar figure bent over a formidable stack of paperwork.

The office streamed light through its windows and open doorway, illuminating the hallway and drawing Heero down towards its source. Stepping just inside the doorway, he studied that prone form silently for several long moments.

She sat with both elbows on the desk, head cradled in one hand as she pored over the documents before her, the other flipping idly through the pages. Her hair was down tonight, slightly disheveled from running fingers through those long, silken strands as she performed her tedious task. Her suit coat had been thrown over the back of her chair, looking uncharacteristically rumpled, and below she wore an ivory blouse that was unbuttoned to reveal a lacy chemise. Her shoes – heeled black loafers – had been discarded next to the edge of her desk, and one long leg was curled beneath her so that he could see her knee peeking out from behind the desk. She looked exhausted.

"Long night?"

Relena was never a reactive person, but it almost made his lips quirk to see her nearly jump out of her skin. "Heero!" she exclaimed, hands fluttering to her heart, cerulean eyes large upon her face. "Goodness, you're going to give me a heart attack one day!"

He waited.

"You're soaked! Why is it you're so averse to umbrellas? I'm going to start telling the guards they can't let you in the building if you're not carrying one. Here, let me…"

She rose from her chair, papers forgotten, and disappeared into the bathroom, returning with a large, soft towel that she then used to unceremoniously rub him down, muttering to herself as she relieved him of his duffle and forced him to remove his jacket. He had discovered years ago that she purposely kept towels and other supplies in her office for occasions such as this when he showed up unannounced and somehow lacking. Unfortunately, instead of simply offering the supplies for his use she often attempted to remedy the situation herself.

"Relena." Standing there motionlessly, he accepted the abuse for several moments until her hands slowed and she paused, looking up into his eyes with a vivid blush and wide eyes.

"Sorry, I'm doing it again…"

"Hn."

Sheepishly she handed him the towel. Then the emotion passed and she eyed him critically while he ran the towel over his hair. "You know, I wouldn't have to do that if you just carried an umbrella."

"Hn."

She rolled her eyes and returned to her desk, Heero following after and settling in one of the chairs across from hers. They had been meeting this way for years now: he would return to Earth suddenly and find her in her office at odd hours; she would welcome him as though the time had never passed. She eyed his wet clothes, no doubt debating whether to mention that he was ruining her upholstery, but ultimately sighed and looked back to the documents on her desk. "I was hoping I could get through this proposal tonight before I left. David hates it when I bring work home; he says I already take it with me everywhere I go, why do I have to bring it into the bedroom too?" She sighed again, ruffling through the papers without actually reading anything. Cerulean eyes rose to meet his, the exhaustion he had glimpsed earlier laid plain. "I feel like the Mars Project is becoming a battle greater than the Eve Wars."

"I've noticed."

"My brother says that the terraformation will take less time if we can add more teams and resources to the project, but with all the resistance we're getting from the Naturalists I'm worried we'll never get the support we'll need to complete it before Earth is no longer viable. People don't realize how real the planet's decline has become after the war; they think just because the apocalypse didn't occur the day after that nothing bad could possibly happen." Despite the sarcastic words, concern creased the space between her eyebrows and she turned her gaze outward to the city. The rain was still coming in torrents, causing the skyline to look hazy and ethereal through the glass.

"Most people on the planet haven't seen the damage first-hand. It's hard to accept something you aren't witness to yourself, especially on such a large scale. You're telling people that their planet won't support them any longer, even though it's been doing it for millions of years."

"The planet hasn't had a massive hole in it for millions of years," she said wryly. Heero grunted and they grew silent. Settling back into her chair, Relena ruffled through the papers for several minutes longer before throwing up her hands and pushing the stack of pages across the desk. "Alright, I'm done. I can't read another sentence tonight and still be sane come morning." She rose and pulled her jacket on, eyeing him with a glint in her eyes that Heero recognized well: studying him like she was sizing up a political heavyweight.

"How long have you been back?"

"Just arrived."

"Mm-hm. How long are you staying?"

"Une is concerned about all the controversy surrounding the terraformation project and your involvement as its prime advocate," he explained. Her lips pursed into a thin line. "She asked me to relocate down to the planet until further notice; at least until the debates die down and a consensus is reached. She requested my opinion as the situation progresses."

"To babysit me."

"To assess potential threats."

Relena scowled prettily at him and turned away to once again gaze out on the city. "David is going to have a fit," she grumbled. Heero frowned. She heaved yet another sigh and ran her fingers through her hair in a manner that he had come to memorize over the years. He watched as she inhaled and let out a long breath, her shoulders slumping as she forced herself to release the tension in her body. "He supports the cause itself; he's been an advocate of terraformation since I started my own campaign years ago. He just doesn't like to see me as the target. Lately we've been having arguments over how public my involvement in the project has become; he wants me to take a step back. It scares him to think that there are people angry enough to make threats against my life over something like the survival of mankind. He doesn't understand what it was like during the war, how mild this is compared to what we faced back then."

David Earlhelm was an Earth-based businessman whose political prowess could occasionally put Treize Khushrenada to shame. Like Quatre, he had been born and bred as the heir to his family's already formidable fortune, and since his rise to authority at eighteen had tripled the company's assets. He had bright green eyes, short sandy hair that was often combed back, and a tall, muscular build that was intimidating to his colleagues but appealing to women. Also like Quatre—and even more like Relena—he was unfailingly kind and genuine, with an unwavering degree of integrity. Money was a point of honor, not power—the Earlhelm family had begun modestly and reflected such values in its descendents. Heero suspected it was part of what had drawn the blonde-haired woman to the bright man who had been her husband for the better part of five years.

In truth, Heero liked and respected the man deeply.

Relena glanced over her shoulder to look at him, a peculiar expression on her face as she watched him. Heero remained in the chair across from her desk, eyes intent but shuttered against his thoughts.

"I wish I could make him understand that this is something I have to do, despite the risk."

An unspoken feeling passed between them as they studied one another: the princess and her soldier for so long that it was becoming hard to remember when they had assumed those roles. Something distant and nostalgic sparked in her eyes, longing that he dared not touch in the decade since Libra was destroyed. She rounded her desk and opened her mouth to speak. He rose to his feet before she could form the words.

"You should rest." She halted a step away, wavering on an edge he could touch with his fingers.

They had performed this dance many times before. It was a particular slant to her mouth; his careful neutrality; words that remained unspoken across years despite how easily they discussed the rest of the world. She would waver and he would rise to steady her, set her back on the path away from that edge that threatened them both. He knew at times that she resented him for it. Her eyes told him today was one of those days, his denial a wound that cut deeper every time he erected that professional wall between them. But it had always been his mission to protect her, even from herself—and especially from him.

His eyes caught the subtle movement as she twisted the diamond wedding band in circles around her left ring finger.

"It's getting late; I'll walk you downstairs." She hesitated, then nodded and moved to gather her things. Heero took the opportunity to slip back into his wet jacket and retrieve his duffle. It was in silence that they left her office.

They entered the elevator together and descended the building the same way he had entered. The foyer was all but deserted, only the security guards remaining at their posts. Relena bid them all goodnight by name, stopping briefly to offer small talk and thank them for their continuous hard work. The men showered her with grins and jokes that reflected the admiration so many civilians shared for the young Foreign Minister and brought a happy smile to her lips. Heero nodded a silent farewell when he finally escorted her out into the rain.

Their silence continued as they walked, rain beating a staccato rhythm against the fabric of Relena's umbrella. It was not quite a comfortable silence, too filled with heaviness between them, but it was silence they had suffered in the past and both were superb at overcoming old scars.

"I've always liked the rain on Earth," Relena offered quietly, holding out a hand to collect the fat drops. Within moments her skin was drenched. "There's something that they just can't recreate with the manufactured rain in the colonies; something sprinkler systems and weather modules will never be able to imitate. There's so much natural beauty on Earth. I want my descendents to be able to experience this for themselves."

He said nothing, let her voice her thoughts aimlessly as they meandered the streets of the city. She rambled on for some time about the state of the Earth, then about the citizens of both planet and space. He knew that her mind was spinning between the obstacles involved with the Mars Project and the private difficulties that had become a source of contention between her and her husband. If Heero had learned nothing more about Relena Darlian in the past decade, it was that speech was her outlet to vent. Words, when directed at the right parties, were a balm to the young politician. It was obvious that it had been some time since she had told anyone her frustrations when she was reduced to rattling off the names of the resource satellites that she hoped to recruit for the sake of the terraformation. Heero was content to listen.

Ten years sounded like an eternity to most twenty-something adults, but to Heero it had passed in the blink of an eye, scattering the pilots to every corner of the Earth and space and altering their lives in ways none of them could have foreseen. He felt as though he drifted in a space apart and that the changes had happened overnight, still expecting to receive a mission from Doctor J that sent him rushing off to unearth Wing from its concealment. It was a struggle to realize that he had become obsolete, no longer a Gundam Pilot or even an assassin. Always, a part of him itched to be a soldier, but Treize's final victory had ensured that soldiers were no longer necessary; not the type of soldier that was woven into every fiber of his body since he could remember.

Instead, to battle the restlessness that crawled beneath his skin, he kept busy. Sometimes it involved precious days like this, where he materialized for a time into the ever-present life of the ESUN's Foreign Minister. For the rest, Une was never short of tasks she was happy to set on him as a free agent of Preventer, and they were often the assignments too dangerous or delicate to risk exposure in the fragility of the new era. She respected his need for freedom and solitude to fulfill the mission as he deemed fit, and he suspected that she understood his need to keep occupied; the Preventer leader never quite seemed to take a vacation herself.

None of the pilots did.

Over time the five men kept tabs on each other, their paths inevitably crossing over time despite their vast differences in occupation and lifestyle. Every few years the women that had somehow become entwined with the lot of them drew them back together for a reunion. The last had been a dinner party three years ago insisted upon by Relena and hosted by Dorothy Catalonia to which Heero vowed never to be a part of again. Beyond that, they came across each other haphazardly as they continued to work behind the scenes for the preservation of peace and repression of conflict. On those rare occasions, they made the effort to exchange news and share knowledge with one another. In small ways, they maintained the discipline that had structured their lives for so many years.

Distantly, he acknowledged a trip to the desert might be warranted.

They eventually arrived at her apartment after a walk that took far longer than the ten minutes from the Towers, Relena having fallen silent again some minutes before. This time, the silence was peaceable, calm. A doorman waited just inside the glass-paneled opening to the building, bright lights streaming out from the vestibule to flood the street below. Heero stopped at the foot of the stairs as she started to climb. Relena turned to face him, delicate fingers resting on the black iron railing. Around her, the rain created a misty halo.

"Good night, Relena," he bid, at once abrupt and predictable. They had parted just like this many times over the years, the fact understood between them that he would return again, whether it was the next day or the next year. He turned to go.

"Come have dinner," she called, voice almost inaudible. The shadows cast by the building made it impossible to make out her expression.

"I wouldn't want to intrude."

"David is out of town tonight. Come eat with me. If I know anything it's that you haven't eaten a bite since before your flight."

He hesitated; heard the strange lilting note in her voice, that wavering fear. "Relena—"

"_Please_, Heero." She took a step down toward him, drew a deep breath. "Please."

He felt the scales tip in his head as she pleaded with him, booted feet moving before his brain acknowledged that the decision had been made. Relena's eyes lit. She turned to walk with him as he approached, and the taciturn pilot smirked subtly when her smile all but blinded the doorman. Together, they disappeared into the elevator that would take them upstairs, Heero pondering his decision as they ascended.

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Author Notes: So, fair warning, I don't know where I'm going with this or even how far I'm actually going to continue it. This is something of a sequel to the one-shot "What We Know" that I wrote several years ago. I hope you enjoy it, there will most likely be more as I'm not writing it like a stand-alone. When that more comes, we'll see... However, this is NOT a Relena-cheats-on-her-bastard-husband fanfic, or even a Relena-cheats-on-her-husband-with-Heero fanfic. Again, fair warning if that's what you're looking for.

~Sar


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own GW, never will, but oh what a lovely pipe dream!

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Officially, Heero had never been inside Relena's apartment before. Despite the long years he had always seen her off at the steps to the building—if they even got to that point as they had tonight. Inside, the Foreign Minister shared a life with her husband and there had never been an occasion where Heero had needed to venture further into the building to accompany the young politician. Officially, he was a professional acquaintance whom she had known for more than a decade: an ex-soldier-turned-Preventer who worked closely with Ms. Darlian when he was on-planet and whom the doorman knew on sight from years of brief goodnights and small pleasantries. Officially, Heero was a nuance in the life of an otherwise busy political figurehead.

Unofficially, he knew the layout and interior of her home better than his own, able to navigate the apartment in darkness if needed without disturbing the integrity of the rooms should someone be present to notice. He had been there when she had first moved in, and little had changed in the years since despite her marriage. Relena preferred to maintain a strong sense of order, everything holding a place; furthermore, she was disinclined to rearrange furniture. To counteract the occasional deviations, Heero entertained periodic visits to the apartment to take note of any small modifications – never when she and David were home, of course.

The elevator deposited them into a short but wide hallway, complete with rich black carpet that was easily several inches thick, cream-colored walls framed by crown molding and wainscoting, a crystal chandelier, and a small black decorative table sporting vibrant red geraniums in a black vase and a wide mirror equally framed in black. Across from the mirror and table was a single black door with a silver "20" in large cursive lettering. Heero surveyed the hallway as she searched for her keys, noting with satisfaction the discrete security camera blinking subtly in one corner of the ceiling. As with his previous visits, it appeared the building always maintained its equipment to the highest standards. He knew that the camera streamed live video down to a small surveillance room on the main floor of the building that was constantly manned by a guard; he was patched into the signal remotely through his own laptop.

"Why geraniums?" he asked as she unlocked the door. Relena's eyes flickered to the bright flowers. A knowing smile touched her lips.

"Geraniums are a symbol for folly," she said, slipping her key into the lock. "Every morning I leave for work, I see them sitting there and I remind myself what it is that we've left behind; the mistakes we've made that we must never make again."

"And in the evening?"

Her smile turned enigmatic and she gazed at him pointedly. "Some nights you just need something beautiful to come home to." The door gave way before them, spilling light into the darkened apartment.

Heero stepped past her instinctively for a preliminary sweep of the familiar space, ignoring the loud snort behind him when she realized what he was doing. A decade had given the politician plenty of time to grow used to his paranoid habits. She never asked him to curb the impulse and he never denied the accusation he was a few meters north of obsessive.

Satisfied that the apartment was free of threats, he turned on the lights and surveyed the open area of her living room as she put away her coat and removed her shoes. His own clothes were still uncomfortably damp against his skin. He had stopped dripping enough that the tile floor of the small vestibule held only a few errant drops of moisture, but it would take time and a dryer before the fabric was acceptable. His duffle bag lay by the door where he had left it upon entering and he moved to retrieve it. Placing his shoes beside hers, he removed sopping socks and pulling fresh clothes from the bag.

"Do you mind-?"

"When do I ever?" she interrupted, practically shooed him towards the bathroom. "Throw your wet things into the laundry!" she called after him.

Minutes later he emerged wearing dry jeans and a cotton t-shirt. The dryer hummed from its place in a separate laundry room off the bathroom.

The room he stepped into was large and spacious, with high ceilings and an open concept that then bottlenecked into the hallway where he stood. A large granite island separated a gourmet kitchen from the living and dining areas, sporting gunmetal gray cabinets for the island and pristine white for the remainder of the kitchen. The top row of kitchen cabinets displayed fine china dishware and crystal glassware through glass doors, all organized to reflect order and class. The floors were the same tile throughout the living and dining areas: a pewter travertine whose colors varied between silvered blue and a light beige depending on the square you stared at. A large dark table with chairs stood just beyond the kitchen, looking austere and refined. Conversely, the living room was inhabited with thick-cushioned cream couches, comfortable dark chairs, a plush area rug, and a flawless glass coffee table upon which were fresh flowers. A handful of photos adorned both the walls and several small decorative tables at various points around the apartment. Windows made up the entire east wall of the apartment, looking black against the flood of artificial light.

The space was unexpectedly inviting in its severe beauty, able to appear both intimate and impressive just based upon the layout Heero knew Relena had designed. "The apartment looks nice," he said.

In the time it had taken him to change she had started to prepare dinner, bustling around the kitchen and opening drawers with an efficiency that still baffled him. Having been served more meals than either of them could count throughout her life, Heero had been surprised to learn the blonde politician loved and excelled at the art of cooking. She glanced up at him as he spoke, features blooming into an appreciative grin. "David likes the penthouse feel, but it's never been my taste. I told him that if we bought this place I had sole control over the furnishings. I tried to compromise a little with the colors." Meaning she hadn't splashed the walls with anything brighter than paintings, a few of which screamed at him with their bold pops of color. "He's never complained, at least."

"Men don't need much to be comfortable," he offered, thinking of his own unimpressive apartment complete with sparse furnishings, bland walls, and a bed. Relena chuckled quietly at the comment.

Entering the kitchen alongside her, the dark-haired pilot fell easily into the role of sous chef, pulling down plates and stirring the contents of pots and skillets periodically as Relena prepared a dinner more sophisticated than any he'd had in weeks. They worked in comfortable silence, moving around each other effortlessly as though they had made dinner together many times before.

Throughout the process, he could feel her eyes on him. For once he felt as though he were the one being scrutinized, her gaze following him since the moment he had first stepped foot into her office and startled her. For what reasons, he had yet to figure out.

As she started to plate their meals, he felt her pause.

"Should I ask how many times you've been in here before now?"

He smothered the quirk that threatened the side of his mouth. "That depends on how the answer would make you feel." Silence greeted him, indicating she was weighing her options. He turned to study her face: lips pursed and eyes narrowed speculatively as she mulled over the decision. She nodded subtly. He shrugged, "thirty-eight."

"_Thirty-eight_?" she balked, head snapping up to look at him. "Thirty-eight times since I've lived here?"

"Thirty-eight times since you've been married." The quirk threatened again and won this time, turning one corner of his mouth up in amusement as she stared at him wide-eyed and gaped. Her unladylike fits were rarer these days; he had learned to enjoy them when possible.

"Heero! That's _five years_! I don't think you've been on planet half that amount in five years!"

"Fourteen official trips," he offered. His amusement spiked and he inwardly reflected he had known Duo for far too many years to glean such emotion from the simple act of teasing the former princess.

"Fourteen—" The word squeaked breathlessly out from between her lips. "_Heero_!"

He retrieved the prepared plates from the counter where she had become undoubtedly frozen in horror, skirting around her and placing them at the table with previously set utensils and napkins. Schooling his lips back into submission, he quirked an eyebrow in her direction. Deadpan, "did you still want to eat?" Emotions battled on her face: anger, outrage, shock, bafflement.

Her progress to the table was slow as her mouth worked to form words, rendered effectively speechless by his emission. Eventually, she settled into a chair to continue staring at him as the food cooled before her. When further words failed to come, she picked up her fork and began to eat. Heero followed her lead.

After several bites, Relena placed her fork gently down and glared at him, seemingly having focused on one particular emotion. By now, the amusement had cooled back to calm professionalism. At her expression, he recognized she was more than upset at his revelation. "What in God's name gives you the right to break into my home and go through my things?"

"It was necessary to ensure your safety." He failed to point out he had never disturbed her belongings without deliberate need.

"_Thirty-eight times_?" Apparently that number was going to become a bone of contention.

"If I can get in, so can anyone who might want to harm you or your husband," he explained. Relena's expression turned skeptical.

"I have a feeling the actual list of people-capable-of-invading-a-twentieth-story-penthouse is quite a bit smaller than the one in your head," she accused. She took another angry bite of food and waited for an explanation.

He studied his own meal briefly before meeting her eyes directly. "Fifty-three active Naturalists have either the personal or private means to enter this apartment without the knowledge of building staff, all while you may or may not be home to witness the act. After the incident with Mariemeia when we were teenagers, Une charged me with ensuring your safety despite how impossible the likelihood that someone may have unauthorized access," he explained, watching her face transform to surprise and then bitterness. Although time had seen the progression of her career and goals, the decade had also seen its fair share of covert attempts on the young minister's life. Heero did not doubt she was aware there were more than she had been told about.

Despite this information, Heero could see that her anger still simmered at the thought of his invasion; for what reason, he could only guess. "That still doesn't give you or Une the right to invade the privacy of my husband or myself, no matter your intentions." Another bite, followed by a scowl. Injured eyes looked up at him, her lips pursed. "You could have told me."

For once, Heero made himself look away from those bright eyes. "You would have been uncomfortable."

"You don't think I'm uncomfortable!" She stood abruptly and spun away from the table, the food all but forgotten as she ran a harried hand through her hair and spun back again to stare at him. "Heero, you just admitted that you've broken into my apartment more often in the last five years than you've been down to Earth for visits! I know you've always looked after my safety, but this-! Do you know how David would feel if he knew that you had been in our home—our bedroom—without our knowledge? Do you—Oh, God, do you spy on us, Heero?"

It was his turn to scowl, rising to meet her as she paced a small rut into the tile of the floor. "I have never entered your apartment when either you or your husband were home; there hasn't been the need. I don't come here to snoop; I come to do a job that needs to be done and ensure that you're safe." When she continued to pace, he took hold of her arms and forced her to stop and face him, ducking his head to look her in the eye. "I didn't mean to upset you; I just need to know you're protected."

Her eyes were wild, searching. "Then why did you even tell me?"

"You asked me."

The wind went out of her sails. Suddenly, she looked uncharacteristically helpless as his hands continued to hold her fast. He felt his own muscles relax, exhaustion seeping through his bones over an unspoken argument they had been having without ever acknowledging it.

"Relena, why did you ask me here tonight?" he asked in a quiet voice, releasing her and stepping back. So solid in the public eye, Heero thought she appeared waifish in this moment: something he had only glimpsed in recent pictures as she drew herself deeper into the Mars controversy. Exhaustion caught up to everyone, but this… It was part of the reason why Une had asked him to come down—part of the reason why he had agreed.

"I—I don't… I just needed a familiar face for once, I—" Tears began to fall, a sniffle burst forth and she spun violently away from him, scrubbing angrily at her cheeks. "What's the matter with me? I can't believe I'm acting this way!" He watched as she tried to regain her composure, but her shoulders trembled and a sob tore through her chest.

For months now she had been bordering on the state he was presented with now. He had watched her speeches and been present for the occasional ESUN congressional meeting, noted the deepening circles beneath her makeup and the tense strain behind her mask of diplomacy. Relena had never been a person to fake her interactions with humanity, but he could see the effort it had started to take in recent history. The problem was, it was difficult to recognize the signs if you did not know the Relena that had existed before the end of the wars: the tireless determination and profound sense of direction. Her ideals had not changed, but something had been slowly eating away at the Foreign Minister. Une suspected it involved the Mars Project; Heero was not so sure. He could not remember a time when she had ever accused him of being less than honorable, as she had done tonight. If they understood nothing else about each other, it was that each had the best interest in mind for the other.

Despite the wordless screaming in his brain, he picked her up and carried the distraught woman to one of the couches across the room—let her cry until her body stilled and she fell asleep against him, head buried in his neck and cheeks streaked with tears. He wondered distantly if this was ever a state that her husband had witnessed. If so, what had he done?

Careful not to wake her, Heero stood and carried her into the bedroom where he pulled back the covers and laid her down. He hesitated as he pulled the covers up around her—her face was still contorted in distress despite her slumber—then returned to the kitchen, disposed of the remnants of dinner and washed the dishes. Afterwards, he sent a message to Une requesting that a sick day be issued for the Foreign Minister and her schedule be cleared for the following day. Five minutes later, he received a reply telling him it was done.

Pulling his laptop from his duffle, he confirmed that businessman David Earlhelm was off-planet until well into the following day, his encrypted company itinerary announcing his flight to arrive at 1600 hours. Then, settling himself onto one of the couches with laptop in hand, he began to delve into the past several months of the life of Relena Darlian, intent on knowing every step she had taken since he had last been to visit.

* * *

Relena woke when the first rays of sunlight streamed into her bedroom, the sun just peeking over the horizon and flooding the space around her with red haze.

The first thing she noticed was that her eyes felt gritty and swollen, the second that she had fallen asleep in clothes that were not her pajamas. She lay beneath the covers for several precious moments, floating between full awareness and that soft drowsiness that threatened to pull her back under. Ultimately, the feeling of being rumpled and stiff won over and she sat up, pushing back the blankets to stare down at that same outfit from the previous workday.

Her mind flooded with memories of the evening with Heero: his uncharacteristic teasing and her hysterics; cooking dinner together; the image he struck when he first emerged from the bathroom in fresh clothes; their meandering walk through the city; his unexpected appearance in her office after such a long absence. A tremor ran through her body.

She always missed him when he was away. Realistically, she knew he was present more often than she saw his face, but she missed seeing that face and longed for the easy way they slid back into a routine with each other despite those long absences. But last night, she…

There were boundaries that neither of them crossed with each other—_refused_ to cross with each other—for reasons that were too numerous to list. Last night, she had most definitely bulldozed over that line and made a few angels in the sand. She had accused him of spying on her married life, even; accused him of being a lecher and a criminal with one ridiculous sentence that should never have crossed her lips. How could she even think that of him, in all that they had come to learn about each other?

Relena allowed her head the droop, her hair falling in a golden curtain around her face.

Exhaustion was a kind word for what she felt recently. Last night, it had caught up with her in shocking ways that made her stomach roil in the light of the morning. His admission should have earned a playful reprimand on her part; some shock, maybe incredulity (_thirty-eight_, really?), but never the overwrought outburst she had thrown at him.

And he had endured, as he always did.

She forced herself out of bed despite the overwhelming urge to curl up and lock herself away for a week in humiliation. Stripping off her clothes, she changed into comfortable pants, a tank top and her robe, trudged down the hallway of the apartment to clean the mess from the previous night, and stopped to gawk at her spotless kitchen and the man asleep on one of her sofas. Dark hair spilled forward as his head lolled at an uncomfortable angle, arms crossed over his chest with his laptop still open and slumped to one side of his lap. Even in repose, Heero looked ready to spring at any moment.

A soft, sad smile touched her lips. She approached on quiet feet, torn between waking him and allowing him to continue sleeping. Ultimately, she laid a gentle hand on his bicep and said his name.

Prussian eyes opened to meet hers instantly, intense and alert as only he could be. She did not wonder how long he had slept; it didn't matter with Heero, he was awake when he needed to be awake. Those eyes searched her without hesitation, knowing exactly who he was looking at and exactly what he was looking for, a hand rising to brush invisible tears from her cheek; so focused that it made her chest ache. "You're still upset." She nearly burst into tears again, but fought them down and settled beside him on the couch.

"I'm sorry for last night. Thank you."

He continued to study her in the early morning light, a slight frown creasing his forehead. "I had Une clear your schedule. You need a day to recover." It was not a question. She nodded calmly, feeling anything but.

"I… think that might be a good idea." Her heart was hammering in her chest the longer she had time to dwell on the previous night. Beside her, Heero was as steady as he had always been, unwavering and composed despite the nuances she saw flickering behind his eyes. It was hard to see his emotions, so trapped behind that calm mask, but over the years Relena felt she had become a specialist on the complexities of Heero Yuy. He was actually a very expressive person, if you knew what to look for. At this moment, he was worried; that alone worried her.

"I checked your itinerary from the past several months," he said, glancing at his discarded laptop before returning his focus to her. "You haven't taken a day off since before I was last on-planet; you've been up to the resource satellites eight times in the past two months and have been in near-constant debates with the Naturalists who oppose the terraformation. How often have you seen David?"

Right to the point. Her nerves started to calm as she listened to his voice, allowing her to appreciate the fact that the man was never one to beat around the bush.

"Maybe once a week we'll get a few hours together," she admitted, plucking at the hem of her robe as she thought about the breakneck schedule she had been subjecting herself to recently. She had spent fewer moments with her husband in a month than she had with the press secretary in the past week. "I don't think this week is one of those weeks, though." Relena sighed—as she had done so often in recent days—and leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling. "I feel like everyone gets more time together than we do." Beside her, Heero nodded wordlessly.

"You two should take a vacation."

"Vacation!" She laughed outright at the notion, sitting up abruptly so she could face him. "That's a lovely dream, Heero, but we'll never get a vacation the way things are now. David has a lot riding on a deal at work and I can't just disappear in the middle of these debates; the media would have a field day—"

Suddenly, a horrifying thought struck her.

"You slept on my couch the whole night?"

"Hn."

"Oh, God!" She nearly jumped out of her skin, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him to his feet with more energy than she had felt in weeks. "You have to leave, now! Oh, God, the doorman saw you come up. He's a wonderful man, Evan, but he gossips worse than Duo and Hilde on a drunken binge! Heero, you have to GO!" She was shoving him towards the door when he calmly plucked her off the floor and held her suspended several inches from the ground, stunning her to silence.

Boundless blue eyes met hers. "I made a show of leaving shortly after you fell asleep. My clothes are in the dryer again because I wet them down so that I left looking the same as when I arrived. Evan gave me his umbrella and told me that I shouldn't plan meetings with the Foreign Minister if I was going to look like a slob. I think he admires you."

She forgot sometimes how strong he was.

He set her gently on her feet and stepped back as she composed herself. She knew her cheeks were nothing less than a brilliant scarlet. "Sorry."

"Hn. Vacation, Relena."

"Heero—"

"I'll take care of it. Go call David and tell him."

She hesitated, but the expression in those eyes brooked no argument. She turned away slowly and headed down the hall to retrieve her phone. No sooner had she started moving than she heard the clack of a keyboard and a ping indicating a message had been sent.

Ten minutes later David was enthusiastic about the sudden deviation and confident that the company could do without him for a week. As she washed her face and regained some semblance of propriety, she received a message from the ESUN President stating that her vacation had been approved and was effective immediately; the media would be informed she was off-planet attending to concerns with the Mars Project and would be out of contact for that period.

Heero helped her pack, and then disappeared from her apartment while she showered without a word of goodbye. A note taped to the mirror said he would see her soon. Hours later, she climbed into a car and left to join her husband.

* * *

Author Notes: Sooooo, yeah... THAT was an interesting chapter to write. I've realized I'm getting back into the swing of writing these two again. Oy... Hope you enjoyed!

-Sar


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: GW = Not mine.

* * *

A week later Relena found herself sitting on a pier overlooking pristine waters in a sunny, warm island location whose name she had forgotten in the peaceful calm. Her pants were rolled up to her knees so bare feet could skim the water and she wore an airy tank top that waved in the wind over her bathing suit. She had even gotten a tan! –Or, rather, her skin no longer reflected sunlight the way it normally did. Beside her, David was fishing – a pastime he enjoyed but rarely indulged due to their busy schedules. A small cooler sat to one side, filled with water, alcohol, and food. Discarded towels and accessories were strewn behind them from a long, restful day spent doing nothing.

The week had been glorious, relaxing, and free of the press or anyone asking them for their opinions on politics. They had been in bed together more often in the past week than they had in almost six months, and only most of that was sex. Relena couldn't remember a time in her life when she had been naked more often than she had been clothed, but she hedged that this week might very well cross that line.

For the first time in years, she felt refreshed.

Reeling in his empty line and setting aside the fishing pole, her husband turned laughing green eyes her way and smiled, a hand grazing her lower back before slipping beneath her tank top to rub circles into her skin.

"Ready to go back tomorrow?"

"Yes," she lied, "but I'll miss this place. I want to ensure there will always be a beautiful beach like this for people to come to, even if it isn't on Earth."

"You will, Love."

They had talked incessantly since the trip began, recounting their time apart in the months past: how the terraformation project was progressing, what new negotiations had begun between companies, the directions their work was taking them. Both enjoyed the opportunity to delve into the pieces of their lives they had only brushed upon in those precious hours they were able to spend together recently. It gave Relena a renewed sense of understanding for both her own endeavors as well as David's. They had not talked so intimately in ages.

David leaned back on his free hand and stared across the water as the sun sank inevitably toward the open horizon, painting the glassy surface in bright, vibrant colors. She, in turn, studied him: tall and well built, handsome with sharp, strong features and a ready smile. His sandy blonde hair was cut short, and since they were on vacation it was left natural to fall boyishly into his eyes. Relena always liked him when he was relaxed like this; the world seemed lighter around her when she had the rare pleasure of his uninterrupted company.

"I think I'll miss the privacy," he offered. The hand on her back dipped lower, fingers slipping beneath the waist of her pants to caress her hip. Pleasure spiked and she smirked at him through half-lidded eyes.

"You mean you'll miss the constant sex."

A mischievous grin blossomed on his lips. "That, too."

She kissed him, long and languorous. "We'll just have to make our last night memorable, then." His grin spread and he returned the kiss.

"We have a ten hour plane ride tomorrow, who needs sleep tonight?" She shrieked as he suddenly pounced, hard arms banding around her body as he dragged her to him and began trailing kisses down her neck and shoulders. She struggled half-heartedly and laughed until her face turned red, choking out pleas for freedom and petitioning for the safeguard of her chastity. The last had him guffawing alongside her until both lay gasping for breath on the wooden planks of the pier, their bodies a tangle of limbs that took them several long, lazy moments to disengage.

Relena beamed at her husband as they lay there, fingers brushing away strands of hair from his forehead in affection. He smiled rakishly, promising dark pleasures in the night, and kissed her fingers before helping her to sit up, their legs dangling once again over the water.

They watched in silence as the sun set, sitting thigh-to-thigh and holding hands, until night was a dark blanket around them and the only light came from the small lamp decorating the railing on one side of the pier. The evening was quiet on the island, most other of its inhabitants living on the far side of where stood the small cottage in which they had stayed the week. They had enjoyed the anonymity.

Eventually the temperature began to cool and they started to collect their things. Lastly, David turned to repack the cooler while she continued enjoying the evening, making small talk while he bustled about. When all was ready, he settled beside her again and followed her gaze out into the darkness, a serene smile painting his lips.

"I never did ask - what brought all this on?"

All at once her hands became a very fascinating point of discovery. She had worked hard all week to set aside the events leading up her impromptu vacation, wanting to focus solely on enjoying the time away. She hesitated on the truth, and then shook her head slowly, all humor gone. "Heero stopped by the office last week." Curious eyes swiveled to study her, suddenly intent. The barest edge of strain peeked out at her.

"Is something wrong?" She could hear the confused worry in his voice and she instantly laid reassuring fingers against his cheek, leaning toward him so that their shoulders and arms lay flush with each other. She smiled and shook her head.

"No, nothing like that. I just… I asked him a question I already knew the answer to, and then I nearly crucified him when he answered honestly. It wasn't really what I wanted to hear, but I knew it was coming when I asked the question." She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, fingers dropping to twine with his. He squeezed her hand in return and wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, kissing her hair.

"Did he deserve to be crucified?" David asked softly.

"…A little bit," she admitted. She could feel her lips tighten at the memory of the conversation—_thirty-eight_! "If it was anyone else but him it would have been like a bomb going off. With Heero, he's pretty open about the fact that he's set the timer, how many minutes you have to escape the building, and which hallways to avoid." He laughed softly; Relena had told him some interesting, if edited, stories over the years about her friends. "We don't really surprise each other much anymore; I wasn't really, when he told me, I think it was just… too much."

Beside her, David nodded. "You've been working too hard lately. I would think Heero would know better than to put something like that on your shoulders when you were already stretched so thin," he said, chastisement in his voice for the dark-haired Preventer.

Relena hesitated, some small part of her wondering how much of what Heero had done was a test, and how much was honest miscalculation. "I asked him for the answer; it's not his nature to lie to me."

"…Were you hurt?"

She frowned. "I don't know if 'hurt' is the right word. Shocked, maybe?" Cerulean eyes rose to meet steady green as she puzzled through the answer. "Maybe a little stunned? Not hurt, though. …_Overwhelmed_ definitely covers it."

"Do you want me to talk to him when we get back?" he asked honestly, his brow furrowing in concern. Relena beamed appreciatively up at her husband and hugged him tightly in a rush of adoration.

"No," she breathed, "No. I'll talk to him myself when we return. Heero gave me exactly what I needed in the meantime: he made us take a vacation together."

Eyebrows shot up into sandy hair. "This was his idea?"

Relena giggled. "He practically had it planned before I left the room."

David barked out a short laugh and ran a hand through his hair, incredulous. "That man has an uncanny knack for knowing when to show up, doesn't he?" Relena all but fell off the pier trying to hold in her laughter.

"You have no idea!"

* * *

"Yuy, you're wearing a hole in my carpet."

"Quatre's carpet," he corrected, ignoring the imperious blonde who stood tapping her foot at him from across the room. Dorothy Catalonia had never been on his 'list of favorite people' during the war, and she certainly had not done much over the past decade to earn a spot. However, Quatre vouched for her with a ferocity even Heero did not dare to challenge, leaving him with a dilemma whenever he came to visit the former Sandrock pilot: how easily could he make an heiress disappear and not have it traced back to him?

Quatre glanced at them both with a dry expression and continued the conference call that had captured his attention for the past half hour.

"If you want to have little boy time with Quatre, you should probably do it on the weekend instead of storming in here unannounced in the middle of a work week," Dorothy chided, one arm crossed over her chest while the other gestured animatedly. "Aren't you supposed to be here to guard Miss Relena anyway?"

"Relena is on vacation."

Dorothy's eyes went wide as though she had heard the greatest piece of gossip. "_Really_?" she practically crowed, "However did she manage _that_?" Heero always thought the woman looked something like a bird of prey with her unusual eyebrows and sharp smile. In that moment, the expression like a fox scenting meat made him rethink his assessment.

Despite extreme measures to keep certain information secret, Dorothy Catalonia was never far out of the loop; what bits and pieces she was unable to gain by her own considerable skill, she was masterful at gleaning from other people just by simple conversation. Strangely, Quatre was the best at retaining knowledge that he did not want her to know; Sadly, he rarely held back any of that knowledge from the tall socialite. Dorothy was a political shark, having succeeded in both destroying and building vast familial empires in the times since the Eve Wars with simply the well-placed wag of her tongue. She was a dangerous woman to make an enemy; she and Heero constantly skirted that line with each other, but the Wing pilot sometimes doubted how seriously she believed him to be a threat.

"It was necessary for her well-being," he found himself explaining while he continued to pace about the large office where Quatre conducted his company. He did not miss the blond pilot's eyes following him in his circuit despite the continued conversation with his business associates.

"And I suppose you just happen to know exactly where she went and exactly who she went with, don't you, Heero Yuy?" Heero chose not to respond to the baited hook she was dangling before him.

Relena was returning tomorrow, and he had spent the week of her absence torn between following her out on her vacation (an option that he knew would incur her wrath if her previous outburst was any hint) and remaining in the city to prepare for her return. Ultimately, the need to ensure her future safety had won out. He had personally prepared the trip for her and her husband; he knew that it was far less likely that she be targeted or even recognized on the small private island halfway around the globe than when she finally resurfaced in the media's eye. Furthermore, David was with her, and though the man had no formal military training, Heero knew that he was surprisingly capable of protecting both himself and his wife in a small-scale setting. It helped that, unlike his pacifist wife, David had grown up with a father who had taken him hunting and fishing on an annual basis, and had less reservations about using a firearm than Relena if the need arose.

He had finished his preparations with days to spare for her return, leaving him restless without an objective to possess his time. Eventually, he had hopped a last minute plane to the desert and arrived in Quatre's office unannounced earlier that day, startling the Winner heir almost as much as he had Relena a week ago. Unfortunately, he had chosen to arrive on a day where Dorothy was also visiting the quiet businessman on what she called "official correspondence". True to her nature, she used every moment of Quatre's preoccupation to needle and cajole Heero into revealing the nature of his own visit. Bitterly, Heero found he was gradually losing the battle the longer Quatre stayed on his conference call.

"Is this why David has suddenly disappeared as well?" Dorothy crooned, tapping long pale fingers thoughtfully against curving lips. "I've heard neither hide nor hair from him for the past week. Earlhelm Industries works rather closely with the Winner Corporation, you know. Goodness, the man must be ecstatic! He's been hinting at a vacation for ages; they're probably going at it like rabbits, but that's hardly proper to talk about, now is it?" Heero went stiff at the turn in conversation, Dorothy's chortling laugh causing the hairs to rise on the back of his neck and his fingers to twitch toward the gun stowed in the waistband of his jeans.

Sensing blood in the water, Quatre was suddenly there between them.

"Heero, it's so wonderful to see you!" he exclaimed, offering a warm hand that Heero took only partly out of habit. "I'm sorry for the long call, I've been waiting to settle a deal for almost a month now and they just happened to choose today to call me with the final details. How have you been?" Always the tactician, Quatre's hand on Heero's shoulder guided the glowering pilot away from where the sharp-eyed vulture of a woman stood leering at him from across the room.

"Fine," he answered, attention torn between his friend's smiling face and wanting to keep Dorothy in line of sight. He never ruled out the possibility of a knife in the back while in her presence.

"It's been, what? A year and a half almost?"

"Hn." Dorothy casually sauntered toward Quatre's desk as the two men spoke, a gleam in her eye that had every alarm in Heero's head sounding at the same time. His muscles loosened in response, deceptively relaxed.

"Une certainly keeps you busy, doesn't she?"

"There are matters that she prefers I attend to above others." She reclined languidly against the desk, crossing her arms over her chest. Her eyes flickered up at him, a wickedly amused smile playing on her lips. In his mind, he remembered the double lives she led throughout the war, never quite devoted to one side or another. Quatre, like Relena, was an advocate for terraformation, but Dorothy always had hands in all pots when it came to politics as well as the Earth. Always, she was an unknown variable, neither ally nor enemy but content to play whatever part suited her in a given moment to further her own agenda. Subtly, she took a letter opener off the desk and began to roll it between her hands. Heero's fingers twitched at his side again.

"You should get away sometime, take Miss Relena's example and go on vacation. You're always welcome here, you kn— Dorothy!" Quatre's head snapped away to look accusingly at her just as she lifted the dull blade to tap against her cheek. His voice was pleading and firm all at once. Dorothy smiled brightly at him, the gleam in her eyes sharpening to cut, the opener resting lightly against her skin.

"Yes, dearest?"

"Would you mind giving us a few minutes?"

Her smile transformed into a knowing grin as she pushed away from his desk and sauntered forward. Quatre's hand extended and she carefully laid the letter opener in his palm. "Of course, love. Boys need their gossip hour, after all. I'll be downstairs when you're done." She leaned forward, for once her gaze on the platinum-haired pilot, and kissed him chastely before turning and casually making her exit, closing the door behind her without a glance back.

Quatre exhaled loudly.

"She's going to kill me young," he moaned, rubbing one hand over his face.

"She already tried once," Heero murmured. Quatre's lips quirked and he shot the dark man a wry expression.

"You're one to talk."

"Hn. She isn't just visiting, is she?" Quatre's smile grew, knowing eyes lighting on Heero with all the answer he needed to confirm suspicion. Both had formed a bond in that last battle against Libra all those years ago; one that Trowa seemed to approve of, but Quatre refused to speak about. Heero had learned enough over time to know Dorothy had been the one to stab the pilot, but somehow the act of violence had led to a relationship that only grew stronger over time. If Dorothy were loyal to anything, Heero would have to say it was Quatre.

No matter his feelings toward the woman, Heero was pleased to know the modest man was happy in the life he was building.

Quatre smiled genuinely. "So what brings you my way?"

"Une asked me to consult on the Mars Project."

"You mean babysit?"

He swore sometimes that the people he knew were capable of communicating telepathically and shared a brain. Ignoring the barb that echoed Relena's own, Heero walked to the desk and took to leaning against it as Dorothy had moments before. "To assess potential threats," he reiterated.

Quatre nodded, his eyes suddenly shrewd on the Wing pilot. Hands on hips, he regarded Heero for a long moment before asking, "What does Miss Relena think of your involvement?"

Heero paused, thought back through their conversation a week ago. "She was concerned over her husband's reaction; they've been arguing over her level of involvement in the project. She seemed to think that my presence would add to the stress of the debate." He could fathom the reason, but failed to see the cause for concern. His only purpose on-planet was to protect Relena and ensure that she succeeded in her goals. It was not his place to interfere with her marriage.

"How did you reply?" Quatre asked, voice carefully neutral. The blond man was stepping on eggshells around him. Heero realized this and felt his brow furrow.

"I told her to rest and walked her home." He studied his friend as he was studied in turn, two shades of blue clashing with each other. He could see a war being waged behind Quatre's eyes as the tactician weighed the outcome of his next words. He scowled. "Une's reasoning for sending me here is sound. The further the project advances, the more likely that Relena's safety will be threatened by those against her goals. I'm the most capable to do the job."

"I don't disagree, Heero, but…"

"But?"

Quatre looked uncomfortable but steady: a man steeling himself to give bad news. "Heero, you understand what that must be like for them to have you there, don't you?" When he did not respond, Quatre sighed. "You still stop in to visit her when you're on-planet, don't you?"

"Of course."

"And does David know?"

"She tells him when I'm in town. Occasionally he'll be at the office when I arrive."

Quatre's face grew pained as he spoke, until Heero could feel irritation prickle over his skin.

"If you have something to say, then say it."

He waited a long moment, the battle still raging behind kind eyes. Then, purposefully, "You are an unmarried, long-time friend of Relena's who happens to show up on occasion and command large portions of her time when you do so; portions that her own husband often does not get to enjoy," he explained matter-of-factly. "When you were teenagers, she followed you around the Earth and up into space to help fight a war that nearly took both your lives on several occasions, and there are still witnesses from the Mariemeia incident that talk about your injuries and her concern for your well-being. You never come to the reunions with anyone to accompany you. I don't know how much Relena has told David about who we really are or the things we've done, but for the past ten years you have been a ghost on any other occasion but those that involve her or her work. Relena keeps the bear you gave her on the desk in her office, along with that picture of us. Heero, I understand that you value her safety; we all do. But there are lines people tread that can make things difficult for any couple, even those who are happily married."

He felt tense, despite knowing the words were said with thoughtful regard. "…I know that," he explained, frustration bleeding into his voice. "I don't know how else to communicate that I'm not a threat."

Quatre shook his head slowly, eyes still on his friend. "That's the problem, Heero, you _are_ a threat."

The words settled between them heavily: an accusation Heero was not prepared to examine. He could not deny there was truth in those words, but the expression that he saw in his friend's eyes made him itch with thoughts that were being left unspoken. He crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and sighed before refocusing on the blond man across from him.

"…She talks to you about me, doesn't she?"

"More to Dorothy, actually."

Well, that explained a lot. Quatre had the sense to look guilty.

"Are these her words, or yours?"

"A little of both. She's had a lot on her plate lately. It's been longer than usual since she last saw you; she was starting to think you weren't coming back this time."

"…Does she want me to disappear?"

Quatre smiled sadly and approached to lean against the desk beside the dark-haired pilot. "I think," he said, voice quiet, "that you disappearing would be the worst thing you could do."

They sat in silence, the only sound the ticking of the clock that kept time on the wall. They sat long enough that the light streaming in from the office windows grew long, and the building grew quiet beyond the doors leading out. Heero's mind rifled through all the possible scenarios he could enact once he left to return to the city, but none seemed right at that moment.

Finally, a knock sounded through the room as the door swung inward on well-oiled hinges. "Quatre?" Dorothy's long hair swung into the office before her face emerged from behind the door, eyeing the two men with a mixture of expressions that Heero gauged to range between honest concern and curious suspicion. When she saw them both unmoving against the dark mahogany wood, she arched an imperious eyebrow and straightened to stand in the entryway, one hand still on the door handle. "I thought it pertinent to check and make sure you weren't dead in a hail of bullets. One can never be too careful these days, you know."

Quatre's grin bloomed and he stood, arms out, presenting himself for her inspection. "Not even a graze," he boasted proudly. Dorothy's eyes lingered several moments longer than necessary as he turned in place, her smile all pleasure. Were Heero a different man, he would have groaned. Instead, he rose and gathered his things, knowing enough by now to understand when he had outstayed a welcome.

"I should be going, I need to be back at the ESUN before Relena returns tomorrow."

"Leaving so soon, Heero? What a _shame_!" Dorothy all but ushered him out the door and towards the elevators. "We would see you down, but Quatre and I have very pressing matters to attend to. I'm sure you can see yourself out." Beside her, Quatre appeared torn between embarrassment and amusement.

"Come and visit more often, Heero," he said honestly. "We'd all like that. You're always welcome."

He bid Quatre farewell and pressed the button for the elevator. Dorothy smiled wickedly at him when the doors pinged open and he stepped inside.

She waved at him with anything but remorse. "Goodbye, Heero. See you in a few years."

He heard Quatre sigh as the doors closed.

"You shouldn't tease him like that, Dorothy."

"Whoever said I was teasing, Love?"

The elevator descended to spit him out onto the main floor lobby. For once, he took a cab to the airport instead of walking, his mind preoccupied with the coming days and the choices that were being laid out ahead of him. For so long now he had tried to stay out of the way; made himself a passing memory that could do anything but linger, but somehow he had underestimated his own influence.

He had been there when Relena first met David. More than a year after Mariemeia, Quatre had hosted a gala that was both celebration of the successes of a fledgling ESUN, and a nod to Relena's eighteenth birthday and her continued role as Vice Foreign Minister. Officials and businessmen from both Earth and the Colonies had attended, among them a young David Earlhelm as a representative of his own influential family. David was a handful of years older, but it had been obvious to see the instant attraction between the like-minded couple. For once, Heero had been a guest instead of a shadow, the other pilots asked to attend as 'veterans of war'. He had danced and talked with her that night, given her the customary birthday gift, and watched as David and other men had done the same under the guise of propriety and politics. Eventually, he had been called away partway through the night on a Preventer matter and had not returned for months afterwards. When he did finally visit her next, there was a picture of the green-eyed businessman on her desk and a gentle smile on her lips.

He had decided then not to interfere.

Work kept him busy throughout the years, stopped him from dropping in on her at every chance he got. On the occasions when he could no longer remain at a distance, he was treated to the radical changes in her life that her relationship with David brought: an unpredictable, busier schedule; unexpected trips; a new apartment; an engagement ring and eventually a wedding. When she spoke about her husband, it was with awe and contentment. Unlike his unsettled existence, Relena's life had established itself into something solid and tangible; something secure and happy.

If he saw shadows in her eyes, it became his duty to quell them and remind her that she had found what she was looking for.

He boarded the plane stoically, still turning the options over in his head. When he finally allowed himself to rest, he still had not come to a decision.

* * *

Author Note: Just 'cause I had a question about it last chapter, I wanted to let you guys know this story is a totally separate storyline from IYE. So, think of it as though we had Endless Waltz and then we went directly into the timeline leading up to this arc. Hope you enjoy!

-Sar


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: GW is not mine.

* * *

"Councilman, I understand your concerns, but this project is precious to future generations. If we do not begin now, a time will come when the Earth will be a dead rock in the universe and we will have no true beaches to show our children, nothing but artificial air for our descendants to breathe. Everything that the human race is based around will be gone; we need soil to grow crops, continents to build houses, water to drink and replenish. We need a _home_. Humanity was never meant to live solely in space, and it is only by our own folly that we've come to this devastating juncture, thus it is only right that we be the ones to bring about a solution." Relena's voice rang through the chamber as she spoke. She was poised over a table, both hands resting on the dark oak surface as she rose half out of her seat to address an inscrutable older man across the room. The councilman, trying to maintain his neutral expression, hunkered down into his seat and crossed his arms in a manner that easily conveyed his refusal to comprehend what the younger woman was saying.

"I fail to see how spending billions of dollars and potentially several lifetimes of work on something that is purely hypothetical will somehow save humanity, Minister Darlian," her opponent said, his face souring gradually. "You're asking to fund a project that has never been attempted before. The science is not complete, much less reliable—success is not even a guarantee! And then, on top of that, you and a handful of men and women wish to convince us that the Earth is dying and that our time to accomplish this goal is severely limited, thus pushing your own agenda. The Earth has existed for millions of years against every rock and meteor that God has thrown at it and it still rotates in the sky to this day. And these people want us to believe that will no longer happen? With all due respect, Minister, don't you think this sounds a bit far-fetched even to your own ears?"

"_Physicists_, Councilman Oren," she said, emphasizing the words, her eyes weary but fierce, "the top physicists from both Earth and the Colonies, who have been studying the physical and environmental changes of the planet over decades, and most significantly since a battleship damaged the planet beyond repair!" The arguments had been going on for hours, Relena fighting an uphill battle against ESUN representatives that, up until now, had maintained an unwavering restriction on monetary and vocational resources being publicly funded into the project despite its growing popularity. To this point, the Mars project was almost entirely financed and staffed by the private sector, but the project was quickly reaching a level that required the support of the public and subsequent government funding that the ESUN could provide.

The older man sighed, clearly feeling that his time was being wasted. "Miss Darlian, I don't deny that the Eve Wars left undeniable scars on this planet, but they are hardly grounds for this radical venture you're trying to rope the rest of us into." He leaned forward in his seat so that his forearms rested against the edge of the table where he sat, gazing at Relena like a long-suffering grandfather who had finally chosen to chastise a delinquent child. "The way it appears to me is that your personal resources, though significant, are dwindling due to a choice to invest in a flawed ideal - an ideal into which you have also drawn a great deal of other influential persons of both planet and space. However, now that the true scope of your error is coming to light and your associates are starting to see that they have squandered their money on something unobtainable, you have concocted a theory that will allow you to save face and continue this farce long enough to place the blame elsewhere." A low murmur rippled through the room, but no one rose to the Foreign Minister's defense, faces creased by doubt and skepticism. A look of satisfaction passed over Oren's face as he sat back in his chair, lounging in victory.

Heero could see the moment Relena's patience broke. Her face changed, from a passionate entreaty to an eloquent, cool mask of calm, like the reflection of an undisturbed lake against the sky. She straightened completely so that she stood to address the entirety of the members scattered throughout the room, tall and imposing despite her small stature.

"_Gentleman_, there is a _hole_ in the _Earth_." Her words pierced every corner of the chamber, at once powerful and bracing. Here and there members sat up straighter in their chairs, as though pulled upward by an invisible thread. Relena's eyes were relentless—blazing—as they swept the room. "Ten years ago the White Fang used a massive military-grade battleship to wage war on the Earth itself, and the result was a void passing through the core of the planet itself and out the other side. Vast portions of Africa and South America no longer exist, along with _millions_ of people and much of the Pacific Ocean. We are fortunate that the blast did not hit more landmass, but already the Earth's oceans are changing. Water levels have reduced drastically – an almost one percent drop across all known bodies around the globe, not to mention the thousands of streams and rivers that no longer exist because water no longer runs through them. Temperatures are rising in arctic regions and dropping in tropical; the magnetic poles are fluctuating and the planet has sustained more earthquakes in the decade since that blast _than in a hundred years' history_! And that is only the bare surface of the problems that we are facing."

She leaned forward once again, resting flat palms on the tabletop to stare directly at the motionless form of Councilman Oren, the posture at once aggressive and strangely terrifying despite her calm demeanor. The councilman looked suddenly very pale and small in his seat.

"If you will not believe the experts who are telling you that the Earth is slowly edging towards a celestial death, please do not fool yourselves into ignoring that there are, at the very _least_, irreparable, irreconcilable changes coming to the planet as we know it. You can be assured that I will continue to contribute my own funds into this project as fervently as I have since I first proposed it, but I ask that you do what you can to aid me in this effort. We may be a resourceful race, but sometimes we seem to forget that this planet is where those resources originate. If we do nothing, one day our children will wake to realize they have never seen the sun rise beneath a blue sky." Abruptly, she lowered herself back into her chair and folded her hands before her, face serene and eyes bright. Silence reigned, and Relena smiled politely. "As always, the decision remains in your capable hands. Thank you."

Heero could not help the brutal smirk that crossed his lips.

He stood above them unseen, watching the people gathered below him as the room remained stunned by the Foreign Minister's speech. The meeting was being held on a floor of the ESUN Towers that was technically made up of two levels: the main story that housed the chambers themselves, and an upper deck hidden from view by two-way mirrors and wall paneling. All ESUN personnel were aware that Preventer agents monitored conferences for the protection of their people, but visiting guests and other unaffiliated parties that entered the buildings were only privy to the scattering of men and women in uniform who publicly manned the hallways. Behind the walls, Preventers streamed back and forth, vigilant, free to observe any perceived threats and counteract them without prior detection. Of course, only authorized personnel with a revolving code and a security pass could even access the upper levels.

In the past month, Heero had practically lived behind those walls, as Relena inhabited the rooms below. She was truly tireless. Her duties as Foreign Minister ate up her days, but it failed to prevent her from lobbying ferociously for the Mars Project on any landscape she could find. The arguments, like today, were still muddled and hard-fought, but she was unrelenting. Slowly, they were beginning to see support flow in from other members of the ESUN.

Below, the council members were beginning to clear out of the chamber. The decision would come another day, and most likely not tomorrow. There would be more long debates and arguments, more meetings in small stuffy rooms with stiff people whose jobs were to tell Relena 'no'. But, eventually, there would come a day when they would be forced to make a decision, and Heero had no doubt as to which way she would sway them at that time.

He left the observation deck and emerged out on the main floor from a door that looked like any other and locked as securely as a vault behind him. At the same moment Relena exited the council chamber and headed down the hallway that would lead to the elevators. Heero fell into step several feet and a few bodies behind her, losing himself in the ever-busy chaos of the hallways as politicians, staff, and visitors went about their days oblivious as to his association with the blonde woman. When she stepped into the elevator, he followed, and when she exited onto her floor with a spattering of other representatives and Preventers, Heero was a familiar shadow. It was not until she approached her doorway that he conveniently stopped to check his phone and let people stream by for a long moment.

When he finally stepped into the office, she had hung her suit jacket on the back of her chair, drawn the blinds, and was waiting for him, eyes still full of fire.

"How do you make people see what's right in front of their eyes?"

"You don't. If they don't already see it, the problem has nothing to do with vision," he replied monotonously, choosing to stand just inside the doorway where he would be out of sight of the casual passerby. She paced in a short, terse line in front of her desk, her mind working as her eyes tracked the pattern of her steps.

"_Weeks_, I've been arguing this point, and they still want to tell me that I'm making this up! I can't make up the hole my brother shot through the planet!" Heero attempted to calculate the time it would take to wear a track in the carpet if she continued pacing in that fashion. "What more evidence do they need me to give them?"

"It isn't about evidence; it's about money." The factors were too varied on what his brain accepted as a 'track'.

"I _know_! That's why it makes me so angry!"

The office was far enough removed from the remainder of the floor that their voices would not carry, but Heero moved to close the door nevertheless. When he turned back, she was leafing through a pile of paperwork on her desk, frowning.

"They know your right, that's why they're fighting you so hard. Accepting loss is the hardest thing for humans to do; once it happens, you'll have the cooperation you need for the terraformation." She looked up at him, her eyes tired, and nodded with a sigh.

"You always see everything so clearly," she mused, loosing her golden hair to fall around her shoulders.

"Not everything," he murmured. "But I'm also watching from a different view than you are." She smiled briefly, kindly, then returned to shifting the paperwork before her.

Since she had returned from vacation her schedule had seemed to triple, every moment consumed by work to the point that he had literally been forced to carry her up to her apartment one night and physically hand her sleeping form to a very surprised David. Their doorman, who up until now had been a familiar face, was now on a first name basis with Heero and frequently offered up small facts about his wife and family in the spare moments when they saw one another. A month had passed swiftly, and in that time he and Relena had discussed everything with one another–everything but their argument, and although he would have liked to believe the matter had passed into history, he could feel the tension that remained between them.

Attempting to change the subject and ease her frustration, Heero stood across from her desk and watched her shuffle through the ever-present stack. "That was your last meeting of the day. It's early, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to head home."

"No," she said, shaking her head, "I have to finish sorting out that appearance for next month on the Coranis resource satellite and go through some of my correspondence. I'd rather do it here than have to take it home with me." Finding the papers she was searching for, she spread several thick packets out on the desk and started flipping between them.

He said nothing for several long minutes while she buried herself in work, studying her carefully. Unlike a month ago when he had first walked into her office, she looked controlled and calm, if agitated. The vacation had done her good, but the strain was starting to creep back into her eyes. There were things she was not telling him. "I still think Coranis is a bad idea. The satellite is too unstable. They've had scaffolding come down and the gases trapped within the rock have caused explosions and sink holes to form throughout the body. I don't trust Litz. Choose a different station." She glanced up at him and then held his gaze when their eyes met, the papers momentarily forgotten.

"Heero, you know this trip is important. Coranis is the first resource excavation being entirely funded by someone other than one of my known supporters or myself. Cecil Litz is taking a great risk by contributing at this stage of the debates. I have to show confidence and trust if we are going to succeed in getting government funding as well." When his expression did not change, her eyes softened. "We can't always make my safety the top priority. You, better than anyone, know that sometimes you have to risk yourself to gain something." It was an old argument by now, one they had been having since she announced the trip.

He continued to say nothing, observing her with his arms across his chest until she smiled suddenly, mischievously. He could see the effort in the gesture, so unlike her.

"Besides, you'll be there in case I fall down a hole. You can come diving in after me like you always do!"

His eyebrow quirked involuntarily at the remark but she only laughed and returned to the papers before her. A moment later he conceded the fact that neither of them were leaving the office soon and reached forward to pluck one of the packets out of her grip, settling into a plush office chair to help her do her work.

They sat in silence as they had so many times before and worked into the late hours, interrupted periodically by phone calls and mail deliveries. Eventually Heero finished with the packets and moved on to working on his laptop, his fingers flowing rapidly over the keyboard as he lost himself in the glow of the screen and the tap of the keys. He listened with one ear as she worked beside him, picking up extended silences and sharp intakes of breath as she sorted through her mail. She reread several letters that were gathered into a small pile at her side, away from him, and then later tucked into a locked drawer that piqued his interest. Relena was never a locked-drawer type of person. He made a mental note about the drawer and returned his attention to his laptop.

It was only when he heard a loud knock on the door that he realized how long they had stayed in each other's company, eyes glancing up as the door swung wide to reveal David's tall form. The businessman was unsurprised to see the dark-haired Preventer seated beside his wife, nodding to Heero respectfully and receiving the same in return.

"I figured it would probably be another long day if the media is any indication. Brought some food," he offered, holding up a box full of what smelled like Chinese food and had several pairs of chopsticks poking into the air from various bags and boxes.

Stretching in her seat and leaning back to take in the sight of her husband, Relena beamed, "My savior."

They rose and cleared the papers from the desk, setting out the food and opening containers, pulling chairs into a rough circle so that they could talk while eating. Relena, her shoes kicked off into a corner of the office somewhere along the way, reclined in her chair with her feet laying across David's lap as they made conversation and ate.

"—So now I'm stuck with five tons of this adhesive that we can't use, and I'm trying to talk to this shipping supervisor about the fact that he shipped to the wrong business. After _twenty minutes_ of arguing about this, it seems like we've come to an understanding and he's going to take care of it, right?" David flailed his chopsticks in the air as he spoke, the other hand running casually across his wife's legs while an open container of pork-fried rice sat in the crook of his arm. "Well, I walk into the warehouse today and he's sent _another_ five ton shipment of the same stuff!"

"He didn't!" Relena gasped, her face red from trying not to laugh at her husband's predicament.

"Mm-hm! 'Lena, I can't tell you how much effort it took not to scream at this guy. I finally got his manager on the phone and we got the whole thing straightened out, but I think I stood there for ten minutes just staring at that extra shipment this morning. I couldn't believe it! The guys in the office gave me a wide berth this morning, I can tell you that!" Heero felt his mouth kick up for the third time that day as his companions laughed. "I know we just got back from vacation, but I can't wait for this trip of yours next month if this week is any indication of what's to come."

Relena's eyebrows shot up. "You want to come to visit Coranis with me next month?"

"You don't want me to?"

"No, it's not that. I'm just surprised! Usually you stay behind when I go on business trips, I didn't think you would want to come," she admitted.

"I always _want_ to come, but work has this nasty tendency to interfere. I just figured, since we've been on such a roll, what's another day? I think I have so much vacation stored up at work that I might break human resources if I tried to take it all at once, but a day here and there couldn't hurt, right?" One hand rose to rifle through his hair as the tall man surveyed his wife's reaction then shifted to include Heero. "It's a good idea, don't you think, Heero?"

"I don't think Coranis is a good idea to begin with. I've been telling that to Relena since she first started planning the trip," Heero said honestly, turning narrowed eyes on a suddenly tight-lipped Foreign Minister.

It was David's turn to look at him in surprise. "What? Why not?"

"The satellite is volatile; dangerously so. I don't think she should be anywhere near it until the crews have a chance to stabilize the environment." He ignored the glare Relena's eyes were boring into his face, instead meeting David's steady green gaze. The blond man turned to her and frowned, concern obvious.

"Why didn't you say something?"

"This is an important trip for the project. If I decided to avoid my work every time there was the threat of danger, I would be out of a job pretty quickly." Feet still flung across his lap, the resolute expression Relena shot her husband was one Heero knew well; a reason why he was already losing the battle over the trip to the resource satellite. To his credit, David shot a similar expression back at his wife.

"Relena…"

"David, this isn't a matter of changing my mind or making me see reason," she said, stopping him with a raised hand before he could even begin to protest. "I understand the risks that I take for the sake of my job and my ideals. I understand that this is a piece of space rock that humans have converted for their own means, and thus can be dangerous, and I accepted that fact when I first decided to make a trip to a hazardous location. I'm not going out there to get blown up; I'm going to make a point to the people who are doubting the Mars project – a project, mind you, that you were fully aware I was endorsing from the moment we first met. This is nothing new for me. Please stop acting as though I'm going to my death every time you hear the word 'danger' associated with my profession." She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed and eyes piercing as she silently dared her husband to say anything combative. She was not wrong; that was the problem.

A tense moment passed before David sighed, again running a hand through sandy hair in a gesture Heero had come to recognize as an agitated one. His other hand, which had ceased its ministrations when the subject of danger arose, resumed its slow stroke over her legs. "I can see I'm not going to get anywhere with this."

"No, you're not."

"But I am most definitely coming with you."

"David—"

"Fair's fair, Relena. I'm coming."

The spouses stared each other down until eventually Relena deflated back into the cushion of her chair, the tension easing between them. "You fight dirty," she pouted.

"Says the politician," David quipped. Relena's lips quirked and she giggled. Heero, forgotten amidst the argument, took a bite of his food and said nothing, succeeding only in drawing attention back to the meal at hand so that both husband and wife returned to their food as well. Together, all three chewed quietly, digesting the information that had passed between them in their individual manners.

Finally green eyes shifted between Preventer and Foreign Minister, a guarded expression lingering subtly in David's gaze as he set aside a now empty container. "So, getting back to banal subjects, how has your day been?" The question was asked in general, but both men knew whom it was directed towards.

Relena sighed, resting her head back against her chair and staring up at the ceiling so that golden hair spilled over the seat arm. "They still won't believe me. I feel like I'm trying to describe the color blue to a blind person. Oh, David… I know the way the game is played, but even _I'm_ losing patience at this point." Those hands once again slowed their strokes on her shins. "At least I have Heero here to ground me. I think Une realized I needed the support." The movement stopped altogether over her legs.

"You hardly need me here for that, Relena," Heero found himself saying suddenly, Prussian blue meeting green as he spoke. She snorted loudly, still looking at the ceiling.

"Those politicians are lucky I haven't thrown something at their heads by now, Heero. I've been fighting this battle for the better part of a decade; I'm tired of trying to convince people of facts that are bared for them to see. Sometimes I think about what you might do in a given situation. It helps. You're always so calm in the face of opposition. David, you should have seen him back when we were teenagers. He used to say the most outrageous things with this completely neutral expression. You don't let anything disturb your composure, do you?" Cerulean caught his gaze, as intent as the green.

"…You would be surprised." She grinned, eyes gleaming.

"How did you two meet again?" David asked. His voice was quiet, curious. Relena sat up abruptly, dropping her feet to the floor so she could lean forward, the grin remaining.

"I told you, didn't I? Heero went to my school and ripped up the invitation to my birthday party. Later, I knew him as a soldier." It was not quite a lie, but it slipped so effortlessly between her lips that he knew she had used it often. He wondered how much she and her husband discussed the time that existed before they had known each other. David's face had gone blank, unreadable.

"Weren't you fifteen?"

She faltered this time. "It was war… They made me Queen of the World that young. Would it be so unusual to think of a soldier the same age?"

Both husband and wife went quiet staring at each other again, something passing between them that Heero could not decipher beyond that it was different than their previous silence.

"…No, I suppose not."

"How did you two meet?" Heero found himself asking. He knew, of course, but something in him made him want to hear the answer from them directly. Relena's eyes snapped to his face, knowing just as well that he had been there to see it.

David's brow furrowed thoughtfully, his attention shifting in lieu of the question. "You might have been there that night, I think… Her eighteenth birthday? Quatre held that ESUN gala at his home in the desert. You and your other friends came, didn't you?"

"Hn."

"Well, 'Lena was being wooed by all the 'young gentlemen', but Quatre was kind enough to introduce us. We danced; we spoke for, what? Most of the night, 'Lena?" David's hand reached to rest gently on her knee. Relena smiled.

"Something like that."

"The next day I made Quatre give me her number and I asked her out on a proper date. We've been together since." The blond man considered his wife for a long moment when he finished speaking, his hand still resting on her knee. Relena's own hand slipped over his and stayed there. Finally, David looked back at Heero, teeth bared in a sheepish smile. "A bit cliché, isn't it?"

"…Hn."

The evening was quickly turning uncomfortable: a fact that did not escape the businessman as he glanced at the wall clock and slapped a hand against his thigh in shock. "We should probably be heading home; it's getting late. Are you all done here for the night, Love?" He was already out of his seat and packing the food back into the box while he spoke. Relena stood to help him, looking between the two men as she did so with concern painting her face. Heero broke away from the two of them to check the hallways and note any other stragglers in the building. By the time he returned, the office looked as it had when they had first entered after the meeting and Relena was shrugging back into her jacket with her husband's help, talking in low voices to each other that he was unable to make out.

"Halls are clear," he said, interrupting their conversation. "I have a few things to finish up in the building before I leave, so I'm going to head downstairs." He waited long enough for acknowledge their goodbyes before turning abruptly and heading out to the stairwell. Three stories down, he emerged into what was considered the Preventer floor and navigated a chain of hallways that was almost completely deserted. Most Preventers remaining in the building would be attached to specific parties at this time of night, leaving the floor quiet but for the hum of software and machines.

It was days like these that he remembered why he remained in the shadows, on the edges of society and just beyond the casual reach of the people he had come to call 'friends'. He wondered vaguely what Quatre would think of the evening, made a mental note to consider discussing it with the platinum-haired man.

He kept an office on the Preventer floor that was essentially a desk, a chair, a computer, and a filing cabinet. It was more a place to return to than an actual office space, gray walls neutral and unadorned. However, he bypassed the office to walk further into the maze of halls and stop just outside a doorway illuminated by the glow of a computer screen. A dark head was partially hidden behind a digital monitor, Preventer fatigues peeking out as the figure leaned back in a leather chair and watched something that was out of Heero's line of sight.

He waited in the doorway until dark eyes swung upward to acknowledge him.

"Yuy."

"Wufei," he greeted.

"I'm assuming you need something?"

"I want your opinion on Cecil Litz and the Coranis resource satellite."

Those black eyes narrowed. "Litz is scum. How much time do you have?"

Well, then.

Settling several steps further into the office so as to fully face the Chinese pilot, Heero crossed his arms and leaned back against a wall almost as bare as his own. Wufei turned to assess him, mirroring Heero's stance from his seat, a scowl painting his face.

"Tell me."

* * *

Author Note: Little bit of shape forming here at the end. I have a feeling this fic is going to be relatively short compared to some. I've got some concrete events planned, but I have to navigate my way to get to those things. Hope this chapter wasn't too snooze-inducing.


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